14 October 2014
Last updated at 09:33 GMT
Mr Mas had scathing words for the Spanish government
The Constitutional Court suspended the original vote while it heard the case.
Reports that the polls had been cancelled had been welcomed by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Economic and cultural grievances have fuelled Catalan nationalism.
The wealthy region of 7.5 million people contributes more to the Spanish economy than it gets back through central government funds.
Like other Spanish regions, it enjoys a degree of autonomy but campaigners accuse Madrid of recently seeking to undermine Catalan in favour of Spanish as the main language of instruction in schools.
'Catalan jurisdiction' Hours earlier, on Monday evening, the Catalan regional government reportedly announced to a meeting of pro-referendum parties that the vote was off.
But on a morning of high drama at government house in Barcelona, Mr Mas went before reporters to say a vote would be held.
"The vote on 9 November can be considered the preparatory vote before the definitive one," he explained.
A student in Barcelona wears a white mask
with a black cross across the mouth at a protest last week over the
blocking of the referendum
It would be a normal vote, he explained, with polling stations
and ballot boxes, and using 20,000 volunteers and Catalan municipal
buildings, so Spanish government support would not be required.
"The Catalan government has jurisdiction over consulting popular opinion," he said.
Everyone in Catalonia over the age of 16 would be welcome to vote, he added.
The Catalan leader had strong words for Spain and Prime Minister Rajoy, who has refused to countenance a Scottish-style referendum in Catalonia.
"The real adversary is the Spanish state, which has done everything to stop us voting," he said.
In a clear reference to a remark by Mr Rajoy earlier on Tuesday that the abandonment of the referendum was "excellent news", Mr Mas said: "Sometimes such news lasts just a few hours."
Catalonia's Mas waters down Spain secession vote
BBC
Mr Mas had scathing words for the Spanish government
The
head of Spain's Catalonia's region has said a vote on independence will
go ahead on 9 November but added that it would not be "the final say".
Artur Mas said the non-binding poll would be held under a
different legal framework, apparently bypassing the Madrid government's
opposition. The Constitutional Court suspended the original vote while it heard the case.
Reports that the polls had been cancelled had been welcomed by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Economic and cultural grievances have fuelled Catalan nationalism.
The wealthy region of 7.5 million people contributes more to the Spanish economy than it gets back through central government funds.
Like other Spanish regions, it enjoys a degree of autonomy but campaigners accuse Madrid of recently seeking to undermine Catalan in favour of Spanish as the main language of instruction in schools.
'Catalan jurisdiction' Hours earlier, on Monday evening, the Catalan regional government reportedly announced to a meeting of pro-referendum parties that the vote was off.
But on a morning of high drama at government house in Barcelona, Mr Mas went before reporters to say a vote would be held.
"The vote on 9 November can be considered the preparatory vote before the definitive one," he explained.
A student in Barcelona wears a white mask
with a black cross across the mouth at a protest last week over the
blocking of the referendum
"The Catalan government has jurisdiction over consulting popular opinion," he said.
Everyone in Catalonia over the age of 16 would be welcome to vote, he added.
The Catalan leader had strong words for Spain and Prime Minister Rajoy, who has refused to countenance a Scottish-style referendum in Catalonia.
"The real adversary is the Spanish state, which has done everything to stop us voting," he said.
In a clear reference to a remark by Mr Rajoy earlier on Tuesday that the abandonment of the referendum was "excellent news", Mr Mas said: "Sometimes such news lasts just a few hours."
Related Stories
From other news sites
-
Guardian.co.uk Catalans scrap independence vote 40 mins ago
-
Telegraph Catalonia cancels Scottish-style referendum on independence 1 hr ago
-
Financial Times* Doubts over Catalan independence vote 5 hrs ago
-
Channel NewsAsia Spain's Catalonia calls off independence referendum 10 hrs ago
-
Al Jazeera Can immigrants affect Catalonian aspirations? 10 Oct 2014
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